Mai ChengHuan's growth to independence

TLDR: If you've read the discussions on Viki and MDL, you will have seen the overbearing, annoying and toxic mom labels. I won't deny that the mother was portrayed very well by actress He Sai Fei. And many people who are unfamiliar with Asian culture may not understand her portrayal, so they dropped the series because of her, even though she eventually strives to understand her children better, and they reach an understanding. Also, if you're just expecting a RomCom, this series is not for you.

This drama is more about family life and the relationships between the family members. Not many of us will have the economic background as the Mai family, who are living in government housing, and where the parents' big dream is for the government to demolish their building so they can collect the relocation money and move to the suburbs. Mr. and Mrs. Mai have sacrificed enough to be able to send their two children to college, and ChengZao had scholarships while also tutoring while attending school. He's in his early 20s and still sleeps on a cot in their living room. Older sister ChengHuan is 29 and diligently works in the hotel industry. She wants to be independent and to be able to alleviate her parents' difficult life. As her mom increasingly interferes with her life, the fragile balance between filial piety and independence breaks, leading to a public row between her and her mom.

Things I liked:
- the very gradual and realistic change in the relationship between Yao ZhiMing and Mai ChengHuan. They started off on the wrong foot. From my perspective, he fell first but could only support her without her knowing about it.
- Yao ZhiMing and Mai ChengHuan being there for each other, physically present and emotionally available, was the most romantic thing. Viewers define romance differently. Some go for the big ring, flowers, chocolate. Me - someone to hold me when I'm down and someone to listen so I can hear myself think.
- ChengHuan's journey growing up with an overbearing mom to being able to speak up for herself, not second-guessing herself, but being able to stand up for herself was a joy to behold.
- the friendship between siblings ChengHuan and ChengZao. They're the only ones who know their parents and know what the other is going through.
- the friendship between ChengHuan and MaoMao. They have each other's backs.

Read More

Remembering your first love

I enjoyed this short series (8 eps). It doesn't have an unusual plot: high school best friends have a misunderstanding causing a 10-year rift. But we get flashbacks to their high school days and how they got to know each other and became close.

In the present, Achi wants to renew their friendship but he when he starts talking about the past, Ji doesn't want to talk about it. It's clearly something big, at least for Ji. That kept me hooked and I wanted to know what happened between them. In the meantime, Achi is bringing Ji meals at home and at the hospital, really taking care of him. It was so sweet. They exchange post-it notes, like they used to. So many sweet, small things that tugged on Ji's heart (and on mine). Even before Achi showed up at the airport, Ji was already following him online. I was rooting for them the whole time I was watching.
I loved Ji's parents together and individually. How Ji's Dad was able to pull himself together for his sons' sake, I was just so happy for them.

Read More

A sweet high school to college romance

TLDR: Mostly fluffy story about friends growing up together, supporting one another through adversity in high school and college. I loved that they stood up for themselves on that mountain.

The kind of story that can lift your mood. For the most part, each episode was fluffy and left me smiling. Of course, there were a few misunderstandings before the leads became a couple, when they were still trying to navigate their feelings and trying to figure out whether the other person felt as much as they did.

The FL was also such a positive, kind and generous person that another classmate was interested in her for a long time. I liked how this love triangle was handled in the show. It was not toxic, which is refreshing. The second couple was less mature than the leads and they bickered quite a bit, affecting the friends' dynamics several times. And the third couple and they were a couple in my eyes, even people will likely disagree. A bleep at midnight - was that a kiss between them? One goes to study abroad and soon after, the other follows. Then, we find out they're living together. Yes, it's a Chinese drama, and we won't see kisses between the third couple (M/M). But even the promo photos have them staring at each other, in the way the first two couples were positioned.

One of the other things that stood out for me was the group's foray to the hill behind the school. They saved a distraught classmate and were all encouraged to vent their frustrations, not realizing their parents were looking for them and were close enough to hear their shouts. Our parents always think they're doing what's best for us and that we don't know any better when we're 18. Those shouts may have been "unfilial" but they started much-needed conversations.

Read More

An intriguing sageuk with mystery and palace machinations

The synopsis for this drama is quite inaccurate. After watching the show, I was laughing at their description of Min Jae Yi as "a gentle and poised daughter." In truth, she was a tomboy who dressed in boy's clothing from an early age and charged kids toll for crossing a river she supposedly owned. She also frequently hopped walls with her trusty maid/sidekick to escape her house and often got into trouble.

After being accused of murdering her family, Min Jae Yi didn't randomly run into Crown Prince Yi Hwan; she specifically sought him out, hoping to get his help in clearing her name, while also intent on protecting him, as her Father had begged her to [his last words to her].

TLDR: Historical, Mystery, Romance, Drama
Historical - Joseon period
Mystery - Secret curse letters delivered to Crown Prince; one by one are coming true.
Romance - if you're looking for skinship and insta-love, this is not the drama for you. The romance is about trust and deep abiding love that takes time to develop.
Drama - I laughed, I cried and my heart was touched.

I enjoyed the mystery aspect of this drama as I had a chance to keep guessing and the revelations came in bits and pieces. I delighted in the rapport between the main leads whose bickering kept me entertained. But they also worked well together when they were investigating crimes, and they eventually were each other's confidants. As always, Park Hyung Sik did a fantastic job as Crown Prince Yi Hwan; he really showed a range of emotions in this role and was so forward thinking in saying that Jae Yi was a woman, not an object. Jae Yi is probably one of the most feminist characters I have encountered. Her true self is the tomboy that jumped over walls, exhorting coins from strangers to help the poor; in the meantime, Society dictated that she had to grow up, get married and place duty above all.

Lee Tae Sun as Kim Myung Jin (coroner, investigator, scientist, general people-helper) stole the show with his lack of self-awareness. Jang Ga Ram (Min Jae Yi's maid) was perfect as Myung Jin's student. They made me smile and laugh so much. The other leads and supporting actors did a fabulous job, resulting in the well-produced drama. Even though I meant to watch this while it was currently airing, I'm now really glad I was able to binge watch in 4 days. My patience would have been sorely tested if I had to wait so long in between episodes.

Read More

A movie format would have been better

TW: Predatory CEO of entertainment company, trauma, panic disorder

Pros:
- Great acting from the leads, esp. Lee Dong Won as Seung Jun
- Incredible singing from the leads
- Good chemistry between MLs
- No dead fish kisses. Big Yay!

Cons:
- Nice storyline but not enough time to execute
- Some time skips but not sure how much time passed.
- Resolution of CEO issue

Overall, a worthwhile drama that shows a realistic relationship arc when one has mental health issues. Because of all the Pros, I still found it very enjoyable even though it didn't delve more into the nitty gritty of Seung Jun's issues. We just know that Jae Hyun was start of his healing.

Read More

A deeper story than FWB

If you read the reviews and discussions, you'll notice many people didn't get the storyline, doubted whether there a plot at all, or just skipped around to see NC scenes. And there are some like me who were thoroughly invested in the characters and the story, even though it may not have been what we were expecting, given the Bed Friends title. And there were some who were upset about having to deal with and to be triggered by Uea's trauma. As someone who can be triggered myself, I do ask on Reddit, check MDL Discussions and/or review the MDL Tags, so I have some idea of the content. Tags: Gay Romance, LGBTQ+, Trauma, Mean Mother, Adapted From A Novel, Child Abuse, Expressed Consent, Family Abuse, Sassy Male Lead, Workplace Setting

At first, I thought this would be just pure fluff, but given the MDL tags and the first couple of episodes, it started to become clear to me that it would be a much deeper story. Things that stood out to me:
- King was already fascinated by Uea the first time he set eyes on him at the club. And he made it his goal to get Uea's attention ever since, which only back-fired because Uea just thought King was a player.
- Uea's cold demeanor is his wall. Trauma survivors often need this, or some other survival mechanism, to function.
- Even though they had clearly spelled out FWB rules, they each acted more like boyfriends even from the beginning. True FWB don't necessarily check in that often with each other. Nor do they have meals together, text good night, text "I'm home safe."
- The mother-child relationship is complicated. As many times as your own mother abandons/uses/abuses you, you keep hoping she still somehow loves you. It's easy for people to judge Uea for returning home, but it's a really difficult boundary to set, esp. when you have siblings still at home.
- I felt powerless when Uea's boss Krit showed up on the screen. He was creepy and my relief was palpable when he was gone.
- Early childhood trauma have been shown to change brain chemistry. Instead of perpetuating the stigma against mental health, the producers and writers normalized therapy and prescription meds. We don't often see that in BL.

I highly recommend this series. The main leads' acting was great. Their NC scenes were incredible and their chemistry was scorching!

Read More

A coming of age LGBTQ+ story, less of of a BL

I had already watched a lot of BLs before seeing ITSAY, and I was already late to the party because I saw ITSAY in January 2023 (soon after Viki released it). I immediately saw that it was unlike the BLs I had seen before, more of a coming of age LGBTQ+ story about two boys in Phuket. I immediately fell in love with the scenery, the MCs and the rest of the cast, esp. Bas and Hoon. These two were the perfect support for our two MCs whose lives were undergoing such momentous changes.

Having seen several lakorns, what struck me about ITSAY were the understated motions, subtle eye & facial movements, the softly spoken word. Then, we are treated with incredible cinematography and the corresponding music. My heart was all over the place with sadness, joy, laughter, angst, anger.

I get that Teh and Oh are imperfect characters. That's what makes them interesting and relatable to me. At that age, I was similarly selfish & selfless, wanting intimacy & dreading vulnerability and was loving & insufferable. Just Like Teh and Oh, I was a contradiction unto myself.

Read More

Wow, lives up to the hype

TLDR: Highly recommended for complex characters, great chemistry between the leads, well-acted, well-directed, epic action scenes.

I finished Parts 1 and 2 in 5 days. I was wondering if they would live up to the hype, and I was not disappointed. Part 2 was slightly better than Part 1 for me. I loved everything about it - the epic action scenes, the humor, the angst, and even the sad parts. This was an incredibly well-acted and well-directed series. The leads had incredible chemistry, and the supporting cast did a wonderful job.

Purely good or purely evil characters can often be boring to watch. Imperfect characters on the other hand are more realistic and interesting to me. Niao Niao's Mom, Yuan Yi, is probably one of the more interesting ones to me. Having been manipulated to abandon Niao Niao at birth, she returns to a 15yo that's manipulative, uneducated and stubborn. Frankly, Yuan Yi is at a loss because she has only raised sons and commanded soldiers up to this point. And Niao Niao, having been deprived of family warmth and caring from her grandmother and Second Aunt, was hoping things will be different once she's reunited with her family. She's sorely disappointed. Thankfully, she finds mother figures in Third Aunt and especially in the Empress. And, Niao Niao has her ever-loving father who accepts her for who she is, but is not in charge of her upbringing. I loved their special bond.

Li Bu Yi/Zisheng is an incredibly complex character. He is driven my such a deep purpose that's so ingrained within him, I don't think it can be separated from himself. Usually, each person can say, "I am me. These are my actions. That is my purpose." In Zisheng, these seem to all blend together. Although there's a certain kindness in him, there's also sheer brutality. It was downright scary.

Read More

Realistic portrayal of young love

I absolutely loved ITSAY which I thought was a near-perfect coming of age story set in one of the most beautiful parts of Thailand. I was thrilled to watch this sequel but I didn't expect such a realistic portrayal of young love, the mistakes one can make when admiration gets confused with adoration and an older classmate takes advantage of that.

What I remember of my college years were the lightning quick growth everyone seemed to be going through, whether it was in their educational, emotional or psychological growth. Some dorm mates were changing their majors every 6 months, some were dating a different person every few weeks.

And we see a little bit of this in Teh and Oh's relationship, as Oh realizes he's not cut out to be an actor. As Teh gets more involved with the drama club and immersed into acting, Oh gets more discouraged. My heart hurt when Teh accused Oh of not trying hard enough, not realizing what Oh had been going through. Teens are not exactly great at communicating; they try and protect their partners from the unpleasantness and often turn to their friends instead. Or their friends are readily available and their partners are not.

What was a simple admiration of Jai turned to a crush, as Jai gave more attention to Teh. Immaterial of whether Jai actually had feelings for Teh (I would argue he may have), I don't think of the kiss as the act of betrayal. As an actor, Teh may very well be asked to kiss other actors. It was Teh's feelings/actions before and after the kiss that were more telling. His acting journal revealed his growing distance to Oh, and Jai fully took advantage of this. Teh's eyes followed Jai instead of Oh when they were in the same room. He would seek Jai out whenever possible. IMO, the emotional betrayal is what broke Teh and Oh's relationship. You leave a relationship when you no longer feel you belong there, and I applaud Oh for leaving.

Their time apart was crucial in both their growths. Oh realized he still loved Teh and was happy to love him from afar. Teh, on the other hand, realized that he had reached all his goals and none of them meant a thing without Oh by his side. I cried buckets of tears of sadness and of joy. I would give IPYTM over 10 if I could.

Read More

Another cute BL

When two reporters from different departments are asked to pair up, some resentments flair up. One week, Onoe Satoshi was expecting to get the magazine's cover story, but it was replaced by Kaburagi Motoharu's article and photos instead. Onoe was not keen to work with his rival reporter, photojournalist Kaburagi. But they are forced to spend stake-outs for hours at a time in very close quarters, eventually getting to know each other a little better. Onoe finds out what a good person Kabu is, and Kabu, in turn, finds out how smart and ethical Onoe is. Their mutual admiration grows and they start thinking about moving in together.

But a serious misunderstanding threatens their growing affection. Has Onoe become as cynical as Kaburagi after all? Getting the weekly scoop has become so important that you sell your body for information. Has Onoe sold his soul too?

Read More

Enjoyable but nothing new

Except for Zhao Huan Ran who played Liu Xi Zhao, the actors were new to me. They all did a fine job. The story itself is nothing new: a self-absorbed CEO falls for his assistant. But even before that, certain foreshadowing leads us to a shared childhood experience between them that makes her special to him. Sure enough, a similar accidental encounter between them cures him of his phobia. This allows both of them more freedom, but he has already fallen for her. And as good he is about being CEO, he's awful at courting her. It doesn't help that he's getting advice from his completely inept Secretary who's never had a girlfriend.

There are a few scenes of a love triangle, but the FL had never shown any feelings but admiration towards the SML who was her senior at school.

What was disappointing and wasn't addressed even in the end, was that the ML made the FL lose out on an opportunity to train abroad in her chosen field. Granted, there are multiple such opportunities, but I would have liked it better if that had been addressed, so that we knew she wasn't completely giving up everything for him. We saw that he made huge strides and will likely keep making changes to be a better partner to her. I just wanted more for her sake.

Read More

Under-appreciated show

A story about missed connections and second chances. How many chances do you give each other to get the love you deserve? Daonuea and Nine meet when they're each going through a low point, and they find a connection with each other.

They return to their normal lives and are not in touch for 3 months, when Nine shows up in Daonuea's life suddenly. Little by little, we peel a layer and find each person's truth. Their lives are messy. They're impulsive and insecure. It takes great courage to ask for what one needs because the fear of rejection is very real, and the fear that the trust will be broken again is ever-present.

Even with the slightly confusing editing style (which I got used to), I did enjoy this series. I applauded Daonuea and Nine every time they made the courageous choice and cried with them when courage failed them.

Read More

You're my sunflower

I'm in the middle on episode 25. Starting from episode 1, I haven't stopped smiling. This is one of the cutest shows, with some laugh out loud moments. I especially have enjoyed Xiao Man's martial arts daydreams, where she's forever saving the scholar.

I have also enjoyed the relationship between Xiao Man and her Dad, who is incredibly sweet and supportive of her. Their love of the martial arts has bonded them in a special way.

So, why a review before finishing the show?
The two leads finally get around to figuring when they started noticing each other (it's a lot earlier than I guessed). And he's says, "You're my sunflower. Your existence is the most beautiful thing that has happened in my life." I just had to share this moment with you.

UPDATE for the completed series
The series took on a more serious note towards the latter end as Xiao Man, Zuo An and their friends grow up and face the world. The FL and ML really communicated well, esp. given that this is their first relationship and they're so very young. The side characters were great, and Shen Chen Yang grew on me.

I thoroughly enjoyed binge-watching this show!

Read More

Conflicted about this

I was surprised that I enjoyed season 1 as much as I did, so I was lookin g forward to season 2, only to find that I had a difficult time getting into the story. Part of it was how sad it was for about 12 episodes until Tokyo when she was finally able to start letting go. But crying for 12 episodes straight was not fun. I put the show on hold a couple of times before deciding to continue.

After Tokyo, the story picked up and it was more enjoyable. As much as I like Sean Chen as Fang Ting Hao, I was pretty unhappy when he manipulated his 3-month promise from Qi Bai Cao. His obsession with her and wanting to control her was out of hand, even though he did many things to help her.

I felt that the second ML and FL had more chemistry in season 1 than 2. I know Yi Feng was away a lot in season 2 but I no longer felt their connection and rapport this season. It was so evident and cute in the first season. On the other hand, Chang An went through tremendous growth and was really fun to watch. I especially enjoyed his interactions with Fang Ting Hao.

The ending felt abrupt, even with 35 episodes. We did get clues about where everyone was headed, but it still felt very abrupt.

Read More

I really enjoyed this show but...

this is not one where I will miss the characters. I might miss the quirkiness of the Plaza residents who lightened the mood when it got too dark. But, this is a seriously dark view of the world and there's just so much blood...

Song Joon Ki and Jeon Yeo Been were great in the lead roles, but I think Ok Taec Yeon stole the show. I don't think I can see him in anything else for a while. Han Seok was downright scary, all rage and unbridled emotions, as opposed to Vincenzo, who was cool and collected for most of the show.

Glad I watched the show, but I need a few light-hearted rom-coms to recover...

Read More